The 2015 Nepal National League also known as the RedBull National League for sponsorship reasons was the 2nd edition of

Nepal National League The National League (also known as Red Bull National League) was a club-level association football competition in Nepal. The champions secured qualification to a continental cup, previously the AFC President's Cup (now AFC Cup). The franchise-bas ...

. The winners Three Star Club received 1

Crore Crore (; abbreviated cr) denotes the quantity ten million (107) and is equal to 100 lakh in the Indian numbering system. In many international contexts, the decimal quantity is formatted as 10,000,000, but when used in the context of the India ...

or 10 million

rupees Rupee (, ) is the common name for the currencies of India, Mauritius, Nepal, Pakistan, Seychelles, and Sri Lanka, and of former currencies of Afghanistan, Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, the United Arab Emirates (as the Gulf rupee), British East Afr ...

($149,278 USD).

Red Bull Red Bull is a brand of energy drinks created and owned by the Austrian company Red Bull GmbH. With a market share of 43%, it is the most popular energy drink brand as of 2020, and the third most valuable soft drink brand, behind Coca-Cola and ...

energy drink was the main sponsor.

San Miguel Beer San Miguel Beer refers to San Miguel Pale Pilsen, a Filipino pale lager and flagship beer of the San Miguel Brewery. The original San Miguel Brewery, Inc. was founded in San Miguel, Manila, as La Fábrica de Cerveza San Miguel in 1890 by Enri ...

was also a co-sponsor of the competition. The league featured 9 teams from

Kathmandu Kathmandu () is the capital and largest city of Nepal, situated in the central part of the country within the Kathmandu Valley. As per the 2021 Nepal census, it has a population of 845,767 residing in 105,649 households, with approximately 4 mi ...

and the rest of

Nepal Nepal, officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal, is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is mainly situated in the Himalayas, but also includes parts of the Indo-Gangetic Plain. It borders the Tibet Autonomous Region of China Ch ...

. The league was heavily affected by the

April 2015 Nepal earthquake The April 2015 Nepal earthquake (also known as the Gorkha earthquake) killed 8,962 people and injured 21,952 across the countries of Nepal, India, China and Bangladesh. It occurred at on Saturday 25 April 2015, with a magnitude of Moment magni ...

, with play being suspended from late April, resuming in September.

Teams

A total of 9 teams featured in the league. The teams are

Nepal Police Club Nepal Police Club (formerly known as Mahendra Police Club) is a Nepali professional multi-sports club owned and managed by the Nepal Police. The club is best known for its men's football section, Nepal Police F.C., which competes in the Martyr ...

, Nepal Army Club,

Manang Marshyangdi Club Manang Marshyangdi Club () is a Nepali professional football club based in Kathmandu, that competes in the Martyr's Memorial A-Division League. The club has won the National Championship title a record 8 times. Historically, they have had a fierce ...

, Nepal APF, Three Star Club, Far Western FC,

Morang XI Morang XI is a Nepali football club which last played the National Football League. The club was formed in Biratnagar Biratnagar () is a List of cities in Nepal, metropolitan city in Nepal, which serves as the capital of Koshi Province. Wit ...

, Lumbini FC, and Jhapa XI.

Machhindra Football Club Machhindra FC (formally known as Machhindra Bahal Club) is a Nepali professional association football, football club based in the central Kathmandu neighborhood of List of neighborhoods of Kathmandu, Keltole, playing in the Martyr's Memorial A-Div ...

, Himalayan Sherpa Club, Saraswoti Youth Club and Friends Club became unable to take part due to the ban by ANFA Makwanpur DFA were supposed to take part in the league but where disqualified for not filling out the required entries, while Sankata Boys Sports Club had earlier pulled out.

Stadia and locations

Remarks:
¹ Dasarath Rangasala Stadium was heavily damaged due to the

.
² Matches shifted to ANFA Complex due to violent protests in the region.

Personnel and sponsoring

Managerial changes

League table

Results

Matches

Round 1

Round 2

Round 3

Round 4

Round 5

Round 6

Round 7

Round 8

League resumption

Round 9

Round 10

Round 11

Round 12

Round 13

Round 14

Season statistics

Top goalscorers

Hat-tricks

Own Goals

Awards

All Nepal Football Association The All Nepal Football Association (ANFA) (Nepali language, Nepali: अखिल नेपाल फुटबल संघ (एन्फा)) is the governing body of football in Nepal. It is responsible for the Nepal national football team, men's ...

awarded the following awards for the National League season. * Best goalkeeper : Kiran Chemjong ( Three Star Club) * Best defender : Devendra Tamang ( Jhapa XI) * Best midfielder : Bishal Rai (

) * Best forward : Nawayug Shrestha ( Nepal Army Club) * Best coach : Rajendra Tamang ( Three Star Club)

Controversy

The conditions of many stadiums has been heavily criticized as many; including the national stadium, are in poor condition. Some Jhapa XI fans were left feeling aggrieved after the venue was moved from Chandragadhi, where there was a well maintained stadium to the Domalal Stadium in

Birtamod Birtamod ( Nepali: बिर्तामोड नगरपालिका) is a municipality in Jhapa District of Nepal. It is the commercial, educational and transport hub of Jhapa District. Sarnamati Bazar, Dhulabari Bazar, Dhaijan Bazar, Cha ...

, which is smaller but in a more central location. It was initially decided that matches would only be played on weekends so teams had adequate rest time and venues wouldn't be overused, but the

ANFA Anfa (Berber language: ''Anfa'' or ''Anaffa'', ⴰⵏⴼⴰ; ; ; ) was the ancient toponym for Casablanca during the classical period. The city was founded by Berbers around the 10th century BC, with the Romans under Augustus later establishing t ...

decided to revert this decision and schedule matches one after the other, which vexed many team officials and supporters. Nepal Army Club coach Megraj KC publicly criticized the cramped schedules saying that they would hurt team performances. Jhapa XI were unable to train on a proper pitch before an away match against

on 3 April. Instead of being allowed to train in the Police Club's

Dasarath Stadium Dasharath Rangasala ( ; ) is a multi-purpose stadium in Tripureshwar, Kathmandu. It is named after Dasharath Chand, one of the four great martyrs of Nepal. The stadium is used mostly for football matches and cultural programmes. The stadium ha ...

they were instead made to train on the Tudhikhel grounds, whose surface is composed of sand and rocks not grass and is not a proper football pitch. Jhapa coach Bhagirath Ale publicly criticized the

for refusing to grant them permission to train at the national stadium, although he stated that the improper practice session would not have an effect on Jhapa's performance against the police club.

Effects of the April earthquake and subsequent May aftershock on league play

Following the 25 April the National League was immediately suspended by the

as the Country was in a State of emergency. Many of the venues were damaged. The

Dasarath Rangasala Stadium Dasharath Rangasala ( ; ) is a multi-purpose stadium in Tripureshwar, Kathmandu. It is named after Dasharath Chand, one of the four great martyrs of Nepal. The stadium is used mostly for football matches and cultural programmes. The stadium h ...

, which was already in poor shape and in need of repair before the earthquake was rendered completely unplayable as it sustained severe damaged to the stands, grounds, and many of the walls surrounding the stadium collapsed. Following the quake and subsequent aftershock the vast majority of players and staff of the respective teams took time off to help, Bikram Lama spent time delivery relief supplies in Sindhupalchowk for example, and many charitable matches and tournaments were also held to raise awareness and money. On 8 July the

announced that the National League would resume in mid September.

Prizes

The winning club will receive 1 Crore while the runners up 50 Lakhs and the third place team is set to receive 25 Lakhs. The fourth placed will get 15Lakhs and 5th place will get 7 Lakhs Coaches and players who are the recipients of individual awards will each be gifted a motorbike.

References

{{2015 in Asian football (AFC) Nepal National League seasons 1 1 Football in Nepal